


Identity

by Sephirotha



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Greek Mythology, Arranged Marriage, F/M, Identity Issues, Kidnapping, Love Triangles, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-21
Updated: 2015-07-04
Packaged: 2018-01-09 13:49:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1146732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sephirotha/pseuds/Sephirotha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anne was born with only one purpose. But when she rises and rebels, what will the consequences of her actions be?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter I

Long ago, when time had just begun and the gods were in charge of ruling over Gaia and answering the humans’ pleas, a young goddess was born to Lucrecia, goddess of family. This was a child that Jenova, goddess of security and one of the two queens ruling Eden, was expecting with eagerness. Her eldest son, Sephiroth, god of war, would take this goddess to be his counterpart when she grew up. Sephiroth, on the other hand, wasn’t impressed. As Lucrecia left the room, he turned to his mother.  
“She is weak,” he insisted and Jenova rolled her eyes dismissively “I do not need a counterpart, I can take on the burden of grieving widows and their children.”  
“This is my gift to you, my son,” Jenova sighed impatiently “Lucrecia specially slept with Vincent to conceive this child. She may seem like a delicate flower but she will possess her father’s strength for women to look up at her, worship her and take her advice. She will teach women how to fight and fend for themselves as she will comfort them as they mourn for their husbands who have died in battle.”  
“Just because she has the blood of the god of the underworld does not make her strong,” Sephiroth snarled as he stormed out.  
****************************************************************************************************************************  
The months went by and Sephiroth was still unhappy to be betrothed to a mere infant, even if she was a goddess. He returned to Eden one evening, his armour soaked in blood and his immortal body ravaged with wounds. On his way to his room, he passed Anne’s room where the little girl began wailing. Sephiroth paused in the corridor, expecting Lucrecia to come running immediately to comfort her little pride and joy but then he remembered she was on Gaia. Cursing inwardly and asking why she hadn’t taken her daughter with her or left someone to keep an eye on her, the god of war turned and marched into the nursery. He loomed over the crib and Anne stopped crying, her blood red eyes blinking up at him curiously. Sephiroth watched with a blank face as she pulled herself up, using the railing of her crib to support herself and held a hand out to him.  
“Seri,” she gurgled and reached out to him.  
Sephiroth made no move as she leaned over and pressed her tiny hand to his blood-stained armour. She pulled away and stared at her hand in wonder.  
“Bla!” she said and waved it around with a giggle.  
So far, Sephiroth only thought of her as annoying, loud and thank Minerva and Jenova that Lucrecia changed her before she left. Anne gripped her cradle and jumped up and down enthusiastically, giggling and gurgling. Sephiroth turned to leave but as soon as he did, she wailed. He turned around to face her and she stopped. Furrowing his eyebrows, Sephiroth crouched down so his green eyes were level with her red ones.  
“You’re annoying,” he said.  
Anne giggled and reached out to his face. Her tiny finger poked his cheek and Sephiroth stared at with a blink. It felt so warm against his cold cheek. Sephiroth only knew the warmth of blood when it was spilt on him, he knew no other kind of warmth. The finger drew away and Sephiroth felt disappointed slightly, the warmth in that finger felt oddly comforting. Then Anne reached out with both her arms to him.  
“Ha…ha…” she struggled to get the word out and Sephiroth stood up.  
She got more frantic when she saw him move and held her arms out to him, as if she wanted them to stretch and grow.  
“Ha! Ha! Ha! Hug!” she said pleadingly, her eyes filling with tears “Hug! Hug!”  
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow as she jumped up and down, nearly slipping over the sheets in her crib. With a soft smile, he leaned down and plucked her up from the crib, letting her rest against his shoulder and hug some of his blood covered hair. She sighed in content as he eagerly held her to him, relishing in the comforting warmth she provided. He carefully ran a finger through her black hair that was just starting to be long enough to put little braids in. When he heard the light breathing, he concluded that the little goddess had gone to sleep. He considered putting her back in the crib but a soft smirk appeared on his face. He turned and carried Anne out of her room.  
“Let’s see what your mother will think when she discovers that you’re gone,” he whispered softly to the sleeping babe against his shoulder.  
He carried her to his room where he gently placed her in his bed and stripped himself from his armour. After washing and dressing his wounds, he picked her up, slid into bed and rested her on his chest. She curled up with an adorable sigh and Sephiroth closed his eyes to sleep, a hand firmly resting on her little body.  
***********************  
“Where’s my baby?!”  
Cloud, god of blacksmithing, woke up to the sound of Lucrecia throwing one of her vases in a rage. He groaned, rubbed his eyes and yawned, getting up and wandering out to see what the commotion was about.  
“Geez, Lucrecia, calm down!” Zack, god of celebrations, cried out as a vase went whizzing past Cloud’s nose before smashing into the corridor wall.  
“My baby is gone and all you can tell me is to calm down?!” she shrieked as she stormed past the blonde god.  
“What’s going on?” Cloud asked as Zack chased after her.  
“Anne’s not in her crib and she’s panicking that Vincent might have found out about their child and taken her away,” Zack sighed.  
Cloud sighed shortly after. Lucrecia never told Vincent in the end that Anne was his child, despite how much they look alike. Luckily, Vincent rarely visited Eden so it did look like he would never know about Anne.  
“Please, Lucrecia, calm down,” Angeal, god of the sea, sighed.  
“Where’s my baby?!”  
“You have nothing to worry about, Lucrecia.”  
Everyone turned their heads to see Jenova and Minerva, goddess of wisdom and the other queen of Eden. They had soft smiles on their faces as Minerva took Lucrecia’s hand and led her to Sephiroth’s bedroom. The other gods, intrigued, followed them. Cloud carefully peered into the crack of Sephiroth’s door, sprawled out at the bottom as everyone else peered through the crack above him. His blue eyes widened in surprise as he saw the almighty god of war sleeping peacefully in the light of the dawn with the baby goddess cradled to his chest gently. Zack cooed.  
“Aw, that’s so cute,” he whispered.  
“What’s so cute?”  
“Oh, oh! Aerith, quick, come and see!”  
Aerith, goddess of nature, took Zack’s hand and peered through the crack then smiled.  
“I want to see!” Tifa, goddess of love, hissed as she pushed Zack aside and stood on her tiptoes to see the scene.  
“Let me see!”  
“Sssh!”  
Yuffie, goddess of hunting, yelped and covered her mouth as Sephiroth grunted in his sleep and Anne yawned. Soon the whole population of Eden were crowding around the door, watching the scene until Sephiroth cracked one eye open, sending them fleeing. Except from Jenova, who stood at the door with a bright smile.


	2. Chapter II

Anne lay on top of Sephiroth, watching his face curiously. Her eyes sparkled in the dawn’s light and she smiled, sitting up. But as soon as she did, Sephiroth’s hand pushed her body back down into his scarred chest. Anne giggled and looked up, reaching out and poking his cheek.  
“Seph,” she spoke as she poked harder “Wake up, it’s morning.”  
Sephiroth didn’t respond to her insistent poking but when she tried to sit up again, his hand pushed her back down into a lying position. Anne huffed, this wasn’t funny anymore.  
“Seph!” she whined, beating her tiny fists against his chest “Wake up!”  
She strained against the strength of his hand and huffed. She sniffed and began crying which made Sephiroth sit up in alarm and stare down at her. The four-year-old looked up at him with a sly grin before wriggling out of his grip and jumping out of the bed.  
“It’s morning,” she began singing and ran out of his room “it’s morning! Time to get up and play all day!”  
Sephiroth felt himself smile softly and lay back down to go back to sleep. Anne hummed as she ran down the corridors of the Palace of Eden.  
“Morning, morning, morning!” she cheered happily “I love mornings! I love to play in the morning!”  
She stopped when she reached the Feast Hall and grinned.  
“Gen-Gen!” she cheered as she ran up to Genesis, god of the arts.  
Genesis looked down to see the little goddess run up to him and hug his leg.  
“Up early again today I see,” he said as Anne beamed up at him.  
“Gen-Gen, will you teach me how to paint today?” she asked with wide pleading eyes.  
“I don’t know,” Genesis flicked his hair out of his face “I am very busy…”  
“Oh, Genesis,” Lucrecia sighed as she wandered into the hall to get some fruit “Let her paint, I want my little baby to express her creative side once in a while.”  
“I’m not a baby,” Anne mumbled sulkily as she clutched onto Genesis’s toga.  
Genesis caught Lucrecia’s glare and sighed in defeat. He picked up a dumbapple then picked up Anne by the scruff, much to Lucrecia’s horror, and walked to his room.  
************  
“Get out!”  
A paint covered Anne giggled as she shot out of Genesis’s room. Purple paint stained her toga, red paint stuck to her hair, blue paint smeared on her cheeks, green paint covering her hands and yellow paint covering her feet, leaving footprints on the marble floor. She hummed and ran out into the Garden of Eden, accidentally bumping into Aerith.  
“Oh dear me,” Aerith giggled as she saw Anne “Has someone been a naughty girl?”  
“No!” Anne chirruped innocently and hid her hands behind her back.  
Aerith crouched down and smiled warmly at her.  
“I think someone needs a bath,” she said.  
“Could you bath with me, Rith?” Anne asked cutely.  
Aerith smiled.  
“Of course, I know the perfect place.”  
She took Anne’s hand and let her to the Gates of Eden. Lucrecia, however, intercepted them quickly.  
“Don’t take her down to Gaia,” she hissed to Aerith.  
“But why?” Aerith protested “She will be visiting it when she’s older.”  
“I don’t want her father to find out about her,” Lucrecia glanced down at Gaia uncertainly.  
“What’s a father?” Anne asked as she jumped up and down.  
“Just take her to the usual springs in the Garden,” Lucrecia ignored her daughter “Please, she isn’t old enough to go down yet anyway.”  
Aerith stared at Lucrecia uncertainly before picking Anne up.  
“We’re going to the hot springs!” she said and Anne cheered as they headed off back to the garden.  
**************************************************************************************************  
Anne shook her head after Aerith poured a bucket of water over her, getting rid of the red paint. She splashed around in the warm water with her feet happily as Aerith turned to wash her body. Her eyes wandered up to one of the trees that hung over the hot springs. They locked onto an unusual red thing that was hanging out. With a frown, Anne slid out of the hot springs without Aerith noticing and crept over. Meanwhile, Aerith greeted Tifa who decided to join them in the springs.  
“Ah, it is so relaxing to just sit and let the warm waters ease the tension out of your body,” the voluptuous goddess sighed as she lowered her body into the warm water.  
“Especially after a morning of hard work,” Aerith agreed and sighed.  
She turned her head and sat up in alarm.  
“Where’s Anne?” she asked and Tifa looked around.  
“OW! That hurts, yo!”  
The goddesses turned to see Anne swinging on a red ponytail, giggling loudly. Eventually Reno, messenger of the gods, fell out of the tree that he was spying in, making the girls shriek.  
“You pervert!” Tifa snapped as Anne rolled onto the grass after having let go.  
Reno balked and scrambled up onto his feet, fleeing before Tifa could throw one of her curses at him. Anne giggled loudly, clapping her hands in amusement. Aerith sighed, shaking her head and picked her up. Anne looked up at Aerith happily then nuzzled her face into her neck.  
“Love you, Rith,” she murmured and Tifa cooed.  
“She’s so cute,” she simpered and Anne glared at her.  
“I’m not cute!”  
The goddesses giggled as Anne pouted cutely.  
**********************************************  
Anne hummed as she wandered through the kitchens of the palace in a clean toga, running a finger across the cupboards she passed. Her eyes lit up when she saw a knife had been dropped on the floor so sat down with it. She hummed as she began playing with it, pretending to be Sephiroth by swinging it the way he swung his sword. She brought it to her fingertips…  
********************  
Angeal halted when he heard a loud scream and continuous crying followed after it. He turned the corner to see Anne running down the corridor with a bleeding thumb. With a soft sigh, he bent down to the young goddess when she reached him.  
“Now, what happened?” he asked as he took her hand to examine the cut.  
“I…I just wanted to be like Seph…” Anne sniffed as she rubbed her eye “I wanted to…fight the bad men like he did…”  
As Anne rambled on about Sephiroth, Angeal picked her up and took her to his room where he disinfected the cut, drawing more screams from the little goddess, wrapped a bandage around it and gave her a honey lollipop to make her feel better.  
“Anne, listen to me,” he said in a stern but gentle voice “Never play with anything sharp again, OK?”  
“But, Seph does,” Anne pouted as she pulled the lollipop out of her mouth.   
“Yes and he gets hurt all the time like you’ve just hurt yourself,” Angeal said as he placed a hand on her shoulder “What if you cut your thumb off completely, Anne? You’d only ever have one thumb for the rest of your life because you were too careless with a knife.”  
Anne’s eyes widened and she began crying again. Angeal sighed and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze.  
“Just promise me that you won’t play with anything dangerous again,” he said.  
Anne sniffed her tears up and nodded, sticking the lollipop back into her mouth. Angeal smiled and bent down.  
“If you’re a good girl, I’ll bring you a Hippocamp foal for your fifth birthday,” he said and Anne’s eyes widened.  
“Really?!”  
She’d like looking at the Hippocampi that Angeal had, she’d always wanted to go down and pet them. With an eager nod, Anne brightened up almost immediately and Angeal let her go to run around in the palace happily.


	3. Chapter III

Anne was never elegant when it came to dancing. Nevertheless, she enjoyed it. One, two, three, spin and twirl, arms up in the air and immerse herself in her own world of dancing whenever she went out to the gardens to play. …Until she trips over something, a root, rock or sometimes nothing, then falls down a hill. It was always a hill. Anne shrieked as she rolled down the grassy ledge then fell onto her Hippocamp, Sky. Sky snorted in amusement as he trotted over to the river with her on his back. The young goddess groaned.  
“I know, I’m not really fit enough to be the goddess of dancing,” she mumbled.  
She slipped off Sky, took her toga off and slid into the warm water, washing away the grass stains and blood from her body. Sky went into the water with her and splashed around happily as Anne lay against the river bank and stared up into the sky.  
“Sky, all the other gods and goddesses have roles and responsibilities,” she said and Sky glanced at her “I don’t have any of those yet because I’m not grown up. What do you think I’ll be the goddess of when I come of age?”  
Sky gave her a confused look and Anne sighed.  
“Well, I can’t be the goddess of wisdom, Queen Minerva has that role,” she hunched her shoulders “I’m not even that smart.”  
Sky’s next snort sounded like a laugh and Anne splashed him in annoyance. She sighed.  
“I can’t be the goddess of security because Queen Jenova has that role,” she muttered “I don’t even know what security means.”  
She got out of the river and lay down in the meadows naked, letting the sun to dry her. Sky got out and curled up next to her. Anne sighed softly.  
“I can’t be the goddess of animals,” she said and Sky snorted in disappointment “Cissnei has that role. She’s really lucky.”  
She petted Sky’s nose and sighed.  
“Cloud is the god of blacksmithing, Sephiroth is the god of war, Zack is the god of celebrations, Mother is the goddess of family, Aerith is the goddess of nature, Scarlet is the goddess of beauty, Reno is the messenger of the gods, Rude is the god of harvest, Tseng is the god of healing, Yuffie is the goddess of hunting, Elena is the goddess of justice, Genesis is the god of the arts, Angeal is the god of the sea, Lazard is the god of the sky…”  
Sky snorted at this and Anne took a deep breath after the list.  
“And Tifa is the goddess of love,” she breathed then frowned “What is love?”  
They looked at each other blankly. Anne then jumped to her feet and began pulling her toga over her damp body.  
“Maybe Sephiroth will know,” she said and mounted Sky.  
Sky snorted as he got up and began galloping off towards the palace.  
************************************************************************  
Sephiroth was peacefully cleaning Masamune when there was a loud shriek nearby.  
“You little brat!” Scarlet screeched “You ruined my hair! Look at it!”  
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Anne cried as she and Sky ran down the corridors.  
Sephiroth stood as he saw the enraged Scarlet chasing after Anne, her hair rumpled and wet. He walked along the corridor and picked up Anne as she passed him. He set the disorientated goddess on his shoulder and faced Scarlet with a raised eyebrow.  
“Problem?” he said and Scarlet sighed irritably.  
“She ruined my hair!” she said and stomped her foot.  
“I don’t see much difference,” Sephiroth smirked and Scarlet seethed.  
“Now, now, Scarlet,” Fiona, one of Scarlet’s servants took her arm “Let’s go and fix your hair. I promise, it will be relaxing and soothing, it’ll be done in no time.”  
The other maidens took Scarlet’s arms and guided her back to her room where she calmed down eventually. Sephiroth smirked and looked up at Anne.  
“You can’t stay out of trouble can you?” he said.  
Anne pouted and shook her head, making Sky snort in amusement. Sephiroth ran his fingers through her hair, smiling at the warmth she provided him.  
“Sephiroth, what is love?” Anne asked curiously as she took a handful of his hair and ran her fingers through it.  
Sephiroth paused and frowned thoughtfully.  
“Love?” he said and Anne nodded “I believe it is an emotion that is conjured when two people are attracted to each other.”  
“What does attracted mean?”  
Sephiroth hummed thoughtfully as he carried her to his room where he continued to polish his blade. Anne kept her distance as Sky trotted back outside to enjoy the sun. Sephiroth paused in his polishing before looking up at her when he figured out a way to describe attraction.  
“It’s when two people like each other and want to be with one another forever,” he said “Love is very complicated, it brings happiness but pain at the same time.”  
“How does it do that?” Anne asked.  
Sephiroth placed Masamune down and crouched down before her, cupping her cheek.  
“It makes that person very happy if they’re around the person they love,” he explained “They never want to leave them nor do they want anything to hurt them. But if that person does not share that desire to be with them or is taken away from them forcefully, then it hurts. It hurts if you’re not around the person you love and you don’t know if they’ll ever come back.”  
Anne stared into his eyes for a while before giggling and grinning.  
“I’m happy if I’m around you,” she said “So would that mean that I love you?”  
Sephiroth stiffened in surprise and blinked thoughtfully.  
“I…I suppose so…” he said.  
“Then, I love you!”  
Sephiroth smiled softly when Anne wrapped her arms around his neck and he hugged her back tenderly.  
“I love you too, Anne,” he whispered back.  
“Paedophile!” a loud cough merged into a word sounded by the window.  
Sephiroth glared at the red tuft of hair at the window sill.  
“Sephiroth, what’s a paedophile?” Anne asked with a curious look.  
Sephiroth fumed when he heard Reno hiding his laugh behind his hands and stood. He marched over, grabbed him by the hair and yanked him up into Anne’s view.  
“This is a paedophile, you mustn’t ever go near him,” he said and Reno choked, gaping at Sephiroth.  
“Why not?” Anne asked with a soft frown.  
“He’ll make you do nasty things,” Sephiroth said eerily “He’ll make you dance without your toga and he will make you bath with him. He might even try to feed you horrible food.”  
“Ew!” Anne screamed and ran from them “Sky! Protect me from the paedophile!”  
Sephiroth smirked triumphantly as Reno growled at him.  
“Great, now she’s going to never come near me,” he said and pushed against Sephiroth’s arm.  
“That is the idea,” Sephiroth grinned before shoving Reno down into the mortal world.


	4. Chapter IV

“Sephiroth, can I come with you to Gaia today?” Anne asked as she and Sky watched Sephiroth mount his armoured horse, Masamune unsheathed and ready to spill blood.  
“No, not today,” Sephiroth said “I’ll be taking part in another war and you’re not ready for that yet.”  
“But Mother won’t let me go down and the other gods and goddesses say I’m not ready,” Anne whined.  
“You’ll be sixteen in six years, then you can come down with me as the goddess of war,” Sephiroth leaned down and pressed his lips to Anne’s head “I’m really sorry, Anne, but not today. I don’t want you seeing so much violence yet.”  
Before Anne could protest, he dug his heel into his horse’s side and galloped through the Gates of Eden. Anne huffed, puffing her cheeks out as soon as the gates swung shut. She relaxed slightly and sighed, leaning against Sky.  
“I don’t want to be the goddess of war,” she mumbled.  
Sky snorted and flicked his tail in agreement, splashing a bit of water onto her. If she was going to be the goddess of war, he would have to accompany her as her ride. War was terrible, he didn’t want Anne to get involved in any of it. Even though her duties would be to help the women cope with loss and teach them how to defend themselves from soldiers, Anne would have to do a bit of fighting. Anne walked up to the gates, gripping them and sighing. As a novice goddess, she didn’t have the power to open the gates and go down into Gaia. What she wouldn’t give just to spend one day down there…?  
“Hey, Anne. You looking pretty glum today.”  
Sky reared up and Anne darted behind him.  
“Paedophile!” she cried “Go away!”  
“For the last time, I’m not a paedophile!” Reno groaned as Sky snorted at him, stamping his hoof and threatening to have the river come and drown the god of messengers “Seph made that up, I wouldn’t do that to you.”  
“I don’t trust you,” Anne stuck her tongue out.  
“Well…” Reno hummed “What if I agreed to take you down to Gaia?”  
Sky snorted warily but calmed as Anne stroked his scaled tail.  
“How long would I be allowed down there for?” she asked.  
“As long as you want, unless your mother freaks out, then I’ll have to come and take you up here,” Reno shrugged and held up a whistle “If you’ve had enough of Gaia, just blow through this whistle and I’ll come flying.”  
“And if I would want to go back down to Gaia?” Anne said carefully.  
“Just catch me before I go down in the morning and tell me when you want to go,” Reno shrugged.  
Sky and Anne shared a look before Anne nodded.  
“OK, let’s go now!” she said enthusiastically.  
“Sure,” Reno grinned and the gates swung open “I know just the perfect place for your first time. They’re having a massive feast down there in that village for the full moon party.”  
He pointed down to a dark area where festive light danced in a circle.  
“We’ll have to alter your appearance a bit so Zack and the mortals won’t recognize ya…” he muttered “Come here for a minute.”  
Anne turned to him and he cupped her cheeks. A blink of an eye later, followed by a moment of weird pain, Anne stumbled away from Reno’s hands and looked down at herself. Her skin was tanned instead of pale and her hair was a bit shorter than before. Her hair was now a dark brown rather than black and she peered through Sky’s scales to see that her eyes were brown too.  
“Oh yes, your noble steed,” Reno said and slapped Sky on the rump.  
Sky bit at him as soon as the hand made contact with his scales but stiffened when he realised he was morphing into a human. He staggered slightly and fell flat on the floor when his legs shrunk and he obtained arms. Soon he shared the same features as Anne, anyone would mistake him to be her brother. He stared up at Anne in surprise, his shaggy brown hair framing the sides of his face. He opened his mouth to speak but Reno threw a toga over him.  
“Get dressed like a human,” he said and Sky bit his hand, making him yelp.  
Anne watched curiously as Sky got up shakily, staring at the toga in his hands in bewilderment. Reno tutted before grabbing the toga and helping Sky put it on. Anne just smiled as Sky looked down at his attire. His leg wobbled as he took a step forward towards her, confused at how the human body functioned.   
“You’re doing fine,” Anne reassured and held her hands out.  
Sky was taken aback by the gentle tone in her voice and smiled, holding his hands out until they were placed in hers.  
“Aw, that’s so sweet,” Reno cooed “If you’re into bestiality that is…”  
“Hm?”  
Anne and Sky shot him confused looks and Reno grinned.  
“Nothing, now you two have fun!”  
Sky let out a surprised snort and Anne gasped as Reno abruptly shoved them down into Gaia. They clung onto each other as they spiralled down into the night, landing into some trees and getting twigs and leaves in their hair. Sky blinked down at Anne as their limbs were tangled in an awkward knot. Anne smiled softly.  
“Well…we’re here. Can…can you talk?”  
Sky frowned, blinking down at her and opened his mouth. He let out a soft whinny and Anne giggled.  
“We can just say you never learnt to talk,” she shrugged.  
Sky frowned, not liking the idea but nodded slowly. Anne smiled and looked down.  
“Now, how do we get down?” she asked.   
Sky looked down at the ground and brought his arm tightly around Anne. There was a bit of snapping and they dropped down, Sky landing wobbly on his feet before falling to his knees, cradling Anne to his chest. Anne was hugging him tightly and she looked around, sighing in relief.  
“Thanks,” she smiled up at him as they got up and brushed themselves down “Now come on!”  
She grabbed his hand and helped him walk over to the village which was having a magnificent feast. She felt a little nervous as she saw children her age running around and playing with one another. Sky squeezed her hand nervously. She squeezed back and they slowly emerged from the shrubbery, into the celebration.  
“Welcome!” a rather plump man greeted them with an amphora of wine then staggered “Please! Join in!”  
Sky let out a surprised snort when he was clapped onto the back and Anne spluttered as some wine was spilt on her.  
“Father, you’ve had quite enough!” an adolescent girl who nearly matched Sky in height and had long black hair came and grabbed him by the arm.  
“Oh come on! Tis a celebration!”  
A younger boy with black hair and silver eyes took Anne and Sky.  
“Come with me,” he said and led them over to three free seats by the table.  
Sky shifted uncomfortably as he managed to get into a seating position next to Anne as the boy sat on Anne’s other side.  
“You look new around here,” the boy commented and stuck his hand out “I’m Luka.”  
“Anne,” Anne smiled and shook Luka’s hand “This is my older brother, Sky.”  
“Nice to meet you too,” Luka smiled and held his hand out to Sky.  
Sky stared at Luka’s hand and raised his own, mimicking Anne’s movements to shaking it. As he pulled away, Luka pushed a couple of plates towards them with meat. Sky snorted in disapproval and Luka blinked in surprise at the unusual sound.  
“He doesn’t like meat!” Anne supplied quickly “He grew up in the wild with…with cows!”  
Sky snorted louder.  
“I mean horses!”  
Sky stuck his nose up in the air snootily and Luka blinked incredulously.  
“Wow…interesting…” he commented and Anne blushed softly.  
“He adopted me, my mother passed away a long time ago,” she continued fabricating a backstory “Well…I more adopted him but he’s very caring and I understand him even though he can’t talk.”  
To put emphasis of the brotherly act, Sky hugged Anne tightly and Luka smiled.  
“That’s very sweet,” he said “I have a twin sister and I feel exactly the same with her. I would never let her get hurt.”  
Anne smiled as she patted Sky’s arm softly. They continued getting acquainted with Luka until Anne felt something prickle at the back of her neck. She turned her head to see Reno gesturing frantically for them to get back up to Eden.  
“Well, it’s been fun,” Anne interrupted Luka “I’m terribly sorry but we’d better get back home.”  
“You can stay over with us, we have space,” Luna, Luka’s twin sister who had joined them earlier, offered.  
“Oh no, we couldn’t possibly,” Anne shook her head as she and Sky got up “You see…uh, one of the herd is pregnant and we want to check on her, she might give birth any time soon.”  
“Will we see you again?” Luka asked, looking disheartened.  
Anne met his gaze and gave him a reassuring smile.  
“Sure! We can meet again.”  
Sky took her hand as they exchanged their farewells and went out of the village to meet a very panicky Reno.  
“Finally!” he hissed as he gripped their shoulders to take their disguises off “Your mother is mental! She’s supposed to be the goddess of family but when she has a child herself, she goes completely batty!”  
“She’s turned into a bat?” Anne interpreted his words with a confused frown.  
Reno blinked and shook his head.  
“Never mind, I’ll just drop you two off in one of Eden’s fields somewhere,” he muttered as he flew them up back to Eden.  
Anne clung onto Sky’s mane and gazed back down at Gaia, hoping to return soon.


	5. Chapter 5

“Your sister, Serenity, seems to like Sky,” Anne smiled as she, Luka and Luna lay on the hill.

Luka was fast asleep as Anne and Luna slipped flowers into his hair and into his clothes.  Luna glanced down at where Sky was washing his face and Serenity was right next to him, trying to weave flowers into his hair.  Sky batted her away with an angry snort.

“Your brother, Sky, seems to not like Serenity,” she said whilst raising an eyebrow and Anne shrugged.

“I suppose she isn’t his type,” she said.

“Everyone loves Serenity,” Luna frowned “She’s pretty, she’s creative and she’s very nice.  Surely a nice, young man like Sky would be a suitable husband for her.”

“I suppose Sky’s interest lies elsewhere?” Anne suggested as they watched Sky turn away from Serenity fully to dry his face.

Luna gently slapped her on the shoulder and Anne turned to her to receive her alarmed look.

“He’s gay?” she whispered.

“What’s gay?” Anne frowned and Luna stared at her.

“Homosexual.”

“That’s not helping.”

Luna coughed as a blush appeared on her face.

“He wants to be married to men,” she said and Anne raised her eyebrows in alarm.

“No!” she exclaimed and both girls flinched when Luka yawned between them and lowered her voice “No, I suppose he just doesn’t like Serenity.”

Luna huffed and gazed down at the couple.

“Give it time,” she shrugged “Eventually he’ll realise how perfect they look together.”

“If my memory serves correctly, it’s been three years since she’s been trying to pursue him,” Anne smiled warmly as Sky looked up at her and waved.

Both girls gasped and giggled when Serenity tried to make another move to attract him which had them toppling into the river.  Luna got up and dusted the petals and stems off her toga.

“I’ll go and get them home so they can get some dry clothes,” she said “We’ll be right back!”

Anne smiled as she ran down the hill to the soaked couple before glancing down at the napping Luka to place another flower in his hair.  She screamed when he suddenly opened his eyes and grabbed her.

“Gotcha!” he laughed as she giggled helplessly when he began tickling her.

“You look ridiculous!” Anne squealed and Luka shook the flowers out of his hair.

“Yes but fresh as a daisy!” he grinned.

Anne was suddenly on the floor and water dropped onto her face as a wet Sky stood over her with Luka in his grip.  Luka blinked down at him and smiled bashfully.

“Sorry, I wasn’t trying anything,” he said and Sky snorted angrily.

He laughed as Luna tried to cover her giggles, understanding Sky’s brotherly, protective behaviour over Anne.

 

* * *

 

“Where’s my baby?!”

“Here we go,” Reno sighed as he ducked on the way to the Gates of Eden to avoid getting hit by a massive vase thrown by Lucrecia.

“Reno.”

Reno halted before Sephiroth who was covered in fresh blood from his latest fight.  The god of war glared down at him suspiciously.

“Where is she?” he asked ominously.

“Where is who?”

“Anne,” Sephiroth snarled as he stepped forward, his shadow covering Reno “Where is she?”

“How would I know?” Reno shrugged “I’m not her keeper.”

“You’re a terrible liar,” Sephiroth sneered as he strode past him.

Reno let out a breath of relief before running out through the gates and fell into a tree near Anne’s location.  He poked his head out of the shrubbery and spied the young goddess lying in the sun with a mortal her age.  As he tried to catch her attention, he couldn’t help but overhear.

“Anne, you’ve grown pretty,” the mortal boy spoke.

Anne looked at him with curious red eyes and he reached out to run his fingers across her cheek.

“No, you’re beautiful.”

“Luka, you’re handsome too,” Anne giggled.

“Anne, this may be a bit presumptuous,” Luka trailed off at her blank look “Look, when we’re old enough, I want to ask your brother for consent to marry you.”

Reno felt his stomach drop and a cold dread crawling up his back.

“Say no,” he whispered “Say no, say no, say no, say no…”

“I would love that,” Anne smiled as she turned onto her side “Luka…I’m very happy to be around you.  And when I have to go home I’m very sad to be without you.”

“That’s how I feel too,” Luka smiled wider.

“But…I don’t know if Sky would give you his consent,” Anne murmured as she looked up at the Sky.

“Forget about Sky, your mother will not approve and neither will your fiancé,” Reno whispered.

“I’ll try my best to earn his consent then,” Luka chuckled as he reached out to cup both of Anne’s rosy cheeks “I love you, Anne.”

Anne stared at him.

 

* * *

 

“ _Luka, I love you too._ ”

Sephiroth stared down at his model of Gaia in disbelief before roaring in anger.  He raised his hand and was about to slam it down on the clay model of Luka before hesitating.  He withdrew his hand and contemplated a more suitable way to get rid of this mortal.  With narrowed eyes, he stepped away from the model and turned around, his eyes burning with anger.

 

* * *

 

“Go, go, go, before your mother sees,” Reno hissed as he ushered Sky and Anne down the corridors.

“Alright, alright,” Anne huffed as they disappeared into their bedroom, whisking her disguise off “Really, he is always so quick to get us in and out of Gaia.  It’s like he’s worried someone’s going to take his head off or something.”

Sky stared down at her as Anne began taking her braid out and placing the flowers in her hair on her vanity.  He had been there when Luka had proposed to her.  He clenched his fists and wandered over as she continued chattering away which stopped when he wrapped his arms around her tightly.

“Sky?”

“Ah…” Sky made a noise “Ahhh…Annne…ne?”

Anne glanced up at him with wide eyes.

“You spoke!” she exclaimed and Sky looked pleased before parting his lips.

“Anne.”

They turned to see a freshly cleaned Sephiroth and Anne smiled brightly.

“Seph!” she cried out as she took a step forward but was halted at his frosty stare.

“Your little steed has become human,” he said and Sky backed off, slowly morphing back into his hippocamp form.

“Seph, you look scary,” Anne whined as she backed away from his approaching form.

She gasped as he grabbed her by the shoulders.

“You will never go down to Gaia again.”

Anne’s heart leapt in terror.

“What?” she whispered.

“You love me,” Sephiroth said with a little force “You told me that you love me and you will love no-one else other than me.”

“Seph, you’re hurting me,” Anne whimpered as she tried to wriggle out of his grip.

Sephiroth pressed his cold lips to her forehead.

“I’m the one you’re marrying,” he said and Anne stared up at him with surprised eyes “How else do you think you’re going to be the goddess of war?”

Anne slumped to her knees as he let her go and handed her a small locket.

“I love you.  You will rule at my side for eternity.  There is no chance that you’ll be able to live with that pathetic mortal.  You are from different worlds.  It will never work.”

Sky snorted as he watched the god of war storm out of the room and slowly crept towards the shaking goddess.

“He can’t…” she whimpered as he nudged her comfortingly “He can’t do this…”

She glanced down at the locket and opened it.  She saw Sephiroth’s image as he walked down the corridor towards his room.  He had a similar locket around his neck, looking down at it and smiling.

“I love you,” the locket chimed “that’s why I can’t have you leave Eden without me.”

Anne closed her eyes and shed a few silent tears.

“You’re so selfish,” she sobbed and cast the locket aside to hug Sky’s neck and bury her face into his mane.


End file.
